Challengers
by singyourmelody
Summary: It's always been there, beneath the surface. Now, when it could all be on the line, what will Derek and Casey choose to do? Dasey Oneshot


"**Challengers"**

By: singyourmelody

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, Chris Martin, Coldplay, The New Pornographers, their music, or corn-on-the-cob. The jury is out on cucumbers though. My lawyers are looking at the papers right now. I kid. I kid.

_"On the walls of the day_

_In the shade of the sun_

_We wrote down_

_Another vision of us_

_We were the Challengers of the Unknown"_

"Challengers" New Pornographers

"So I think the real question here is, if given the choice," Derek said, in all seriousness, "would you rather be a cucumber or a corn-on-the-cob?"

Casey laughed from her armchair and closed the book she had been reading for class. "Where do you come up with this stuff?" she questioned.

Derek had been sprawled out on her bed reading a music magazine before this all-important question sprang to his mind. Now he just shrugged and was looking at her intently, waiting for an answer.

She stood up and sat on the edge of the bed as Derek scooted over to make room for her.

"I'd have to say cucumber. I like my vegetables," Casey declared.

"Huh?" Derek questioned. "Corn-on-the-cob is a vegetable."

"Maybe in your universe," Casey quipped. "In the real one, it's a starch."

"No way, corn is totally grouped under the 'vegetable' category in that little food pyramid thingy," Derek claimed.

"Prove it. I bet you that you don't even know what the food pyramid is."

"It's a pyramid made out of food, obviously. Seriously Casey, you're the one getting the good grades?" Derek teased.

"Oh, so smart now are we?"

"Of course, we, and by we I mean me, are!"

"Me 'are'?" Excellent use of English grammar, Derek," Casey said, unable to contain a smile as she did. Derek's grin matched hers.

Their eyes locked and Derek started moving closer to Casey, shifting his eyes to her lips. Casey knew what was coming next. His lips were a millimeter from hers.

She pulled away.

"Derek, we can't."

Derek let out a frustrated sigh. "I know. I know!" He flopped back on her bed and covered his face with his hands. "This isn't supposed to be this hard."

"It probably wouldn't be this hard if it wasn't the first time" Casey said quietly. She stole a quick glance at Derek who was staring at the floor and she knew that they were both thinking the same thing: November 12th.

0-0-0

_November 5__th__, evening_

"Casey, have you seen my Coldplay CD?" Derek questioned as he entered Casey's room.

"Derek, don't you ever knock?" Casey retorted.

"Hmm, no. CD?" Derek persisted.

"I don't have it. Why do you think I would have it, anyway? That would mean that I would have to enter your land of disgusting, and believe me, not even Chris Martin is worth that torture," Casey stated, as she pushed Derek towards the door.

"Seriously? Not even Chris Martin?" Derek said with a smirk on his face.

Casey thought for a minute. "Well, maybe Chris Martin is worth it, but still. Never mind. Please leave," Casey said as she tried to push the door shut.

"Wait, Casey," Derek said as he pressed his foot up against the door. "That's not the real reason I came in here."

"Oh really?" Casey said surprised, one eyebrow raised. "What is it this time? Homework help. Teacher trouble." Casey rattled off with obvious disinterest. "You need me to bail you out of something again. Parent problems. Girl problems."

Here Derek stopped her. "Girl problems? GIRL problems? I never have girl problems and even if I did, and that's a big if, I wouldn't come to you for advice. You are barely a girl!"

Casey gave him a disgusted look and tried once again to push him out of her room.

"Casey!" Derek exclaimed. "What I came in here for was to give you something."

"You, Derek Venturi, want to give me something. What is it, a 'Get out of Dork Jail Free' card?"

"No, but that's a good idea. I'll have to write that one down." Derek replied.

"Ha. Ha," Casey said sarcastically, but seeing Derek's earnest face and knowing she would never be rid of him until she heard him out, she relented. "Alright, what is it?"

Derek suddenly looked a little nervous. "Well, you see, I got a good deal on tickets to go see Coldplay when they come to Toronto, and well, I know how much you like them and wanted you to have one." He held up two tickets to the concert.

Casey sat there with a look of utter disbelief on her face. "Are you serious, Derek?"

"Well, yeah. You've looked a little down lately, especially after 'The Great Max Debacle of 2007.'"

"Can you and everyone else please stop calling it that?" Casey said miserably.

"Sorry. Anyway, do you want to go or not?" Derek said, regaining some of his past indifference.

"Um, yes! I can't believe you did this for me, Derek! It's amazing!" Casey threw her arms around Derek's neck.

"No touching. No touching!" Derek said.

Casey drew back and looked straight into his eyes. "Thanks, Derek," she said, leaning in and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, before turning around and reaching for her cell phone. "I have got to tell Emily!"

"No prob, Case," Derek said as he headed back to his own room, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

0-0-0

_November 12__th__, late_

"It was so wonderful! I can't, I don't have the words. Oh my gosh, I don't know if that has ever happened to me before. Ever!" Casey said as plopped down on the couch in the living room. Derek sat down next to her. They were both pretty tired from driving back from Toronto for the concert.

"Well, it'll certainly be a first for me. Ahh, how I love the sound of the world without your voice in it," Derek stated. At that Casey reached over and punched his arm.

"Ouch!" Derek replied. "Glad to see your arms still work," he said, rubbing the spot she had hit.

They sat in silence for a few moments.

Finally Casey said, "You know what one of the best things about tonight was?"

"What?"

"Being with you and not fighting all the time."

"Weird, isn't it?" Derek questioned.

"Yeah, it was weird. But a good weird. If there is such a thing."

"I think there is. It's called 'Flying Your Freak Flag,'" Derek stated simply.

"Huh?" Casey asked.

"You know, like if you're weird, but you're proud of it. Then it's a good weird."

"Oh, okay. And how do you know about this, Mr. Always Cool?" Casey looked directly into Derek's eyes.

"Casey, I learned long ago that everybody has a little freak flag in them. And I do mean everyone. You just have to decide what to do with it," Derek stated, turning to look right at her.

"Well, how do you use yours?" Casey asked, lowering her voice a bit.

"Oh you know, secretly reading poetry, wearing Nora's clothes, creating personalities on the internet, the usual" Derek said, with a hint of laughter in his voice.

"No, really," Casey said.

"I don't know, Case. I guess I wave mine around when I want things that I can't have," Derek said, not quite meeting Casey's gaze.

"Like that new guitar?"

Derek turned to look at Casey for a moment before answering. "Yeah, just like that guitar," he said slowly. "Your turn. How do you use your inner freak?"

Casey thought for a moment. "I don't, Derek. Sometimes I think I keep it inside way too much. Everything has to be perfect with me. And that means no mistakes. And with no mistakes comes no letting go. No letting the good weird or anything else out," Casey said. She looked down and gave a small smile. "I'm not making any sense, am I?"

"No, I think you are. You should just let that girl out. For once, Case." Derek looked at her.

Casey didn't answer right away, just sat looking at her lap. Finally, she pulled her head up and in one swift motion, her lips were on Derek's. He didn't respond right away, partially from the shock of what was happening. Finally, he began to kiss her back, his hands reaching up to cup her face and stroke her hair. They stayed like that for a few moments before finally pulling apart.

Derek set his forehead on Casey's. "So Miss Constant Control, what was that?" Derek said, smiling.

"Just letting my Freak Flag fly," Casey said, with a small smile.

"Well I guess that makes two of us," Derek said as he kissed her again.

"Casey! Derek! I swear, what is the matter with you two?" Lizzie's voice echoed through Casey's bedroom, snapping Casey and Derek out of their reverie.

"What?" they said in unison, turning to look at Lizzie.

"I've been calling your names for like two minutes! You were both off somewhere else," Lizzie said as Edwin joined her at the doorway.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Oh you know Casey and Derek are going psycho again," Lizzie answered.

"As usual. Anyway, Dad and Nora want us downstairs like now," Edwin said.

Lizzie turned back to the semi-dazed and nervous-looking teenagers. "Since you probably didn't hear me before, space cadets, we are going for sundaes. Mom and George wanted to know if you want to come."

"I'm good," Derek said, regaining his use of speech.

"Me too," Casey chimed in.

"Passing up ice cream? Derek?" Edwin screeched, surprised.

Lizzie rolled her eyes, grabbed his arm, and headed down the stairs. Derek and Casey could hear Edwin saying, "I swear Lizzie, something's not right with those two. Derek never turns down food. Especially ice cream!"

Neither Casey nor Derek said anything until they heard the doors of the car slam shut and the hum of the motor fade slowly down the street.

"Okay, so our agreed upon plan is not working, Casey," Derek said, turning to look at her.

"So what do you propose we do?" Casey said impatiently.

"Revise it?"

"How?" Casey said, thinking back to the conversation they had had several days after their kiss. "We agreed that this probably was just some stupid thing where we thought we were attracted to each other because of each of us being unavailable to the other and because the rule of 'The Desire for the Unattainable' which says that you only want something when you—" Derek cut Casey off by placing his lips over hers. The kiss grew heated fast and pretty soon their hands were roaming all over and clothes were getting skewered as Derek pressed Casey up against the wall. They stayed like that for a few minutes, before they finally broke apart, breathing hard.

"Can't have it," Casey whispered, finishing her sentence, as Derek rested his forehead on hers.

"So, as I was saying," Derek said as he finally backed away from Casey, "I think we need to revise the plan."

"But Derek, what if they find out? And let's be honest, the way we act even when we are not together is pretty obvious. They are going to know. Do you want to deal with that?" Casey inquired.

"I don't know, Casey. You can't know that they are going to find out. Maybe they will, maybe they won't. It's the unknown," Derek stated.

"I know it is!" Casey exclaimed. "And I hate the unknown! I hate being unsure about things. I need to know how it works out. I want to know how this is going to end with us. Good? Or bad?"

"I don't know that either, Case," Derek said quietly.

"Well, then how can you expect me to do this Derek? No offense, but you don't have the best track record with girls and I'm finally done with the whole Max thing. Well, mostly done anyway." Casey sighed. "Don't you get it, Derek? The pieces of my heart are finally back together again, but there are still a few cracks. It's still fragile," Casey said, her eyes pleading with Derek's.

"I get that, Casey, I really do. But don't you ever want to just jump feet first into something unknown? Something that could be the worst mistake you have ever made or something that could be the thing that defines your life. The thing that makes it all better, makes everything else worth it," Derek said. "It's a chance," he said quietly, holding out his hand to her.

Casey looked at his hand and then raised her eyes to meet his for a long moment.

Slowly, she reached out and placed her hand in his.

0-0-0

_Many years later_

"Daddy?" the young girl called out.

"What is it, Anna?" Derek asked as he entered the kitchen, where his young daughter sat at the table coloring.

"Marie said that corn-on-the-cob wasn't a vegetable, but I didn't believe her. You and mommy always make me eat it, even when I don't want to, so it has to be a vegetable. It just has to! She's wrong, right Daddy?" Anna asked, her big brown eyes staring up at Derek.

He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss on the top of her hair.

"Of course corn-on-the-cob is a vegetable, sweetie. But just to be sure, why don't you go ask your mother?" Derek replied, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

Anna hopped off the stool she was sitting on and came back a moment later, dragging her mother by the hand.

"Daddy!" Anna exclaimed. "Mommy says that corn-on-the-cob isn't a vegetable!"

"Well, Anna, let me tell you a story. . ." Derek began, as he reached over and held Casey's hand.

_A/N: Well, there it is. I hope Derek isn't too out of character; he can be very tricky to capture. Most of it is supposed to take place during their senior year of high school. Casey and Max broke up in a big way, so that's why Casey is a bit emotionally scarred. Anyway, let me know what you think! Review, review, review! And maybe I'll give you a cucumber. Once again, I kid. I kid. ___


End file.
